When working behind an opener for Game 2 of the American League Division Series, White Sox right-hander Sean Burke said “I dream of the World Series more than I dream of a playoff start.”
But as the Sox return to Cleveland for a win-or-go-home Game 5, Burke is getting that playoff start; one with the biggest stakes for the franchise in the last 20 years.
“I love being able to pitch in the big game,” Burke said on Friday. “That the coaching staff and the team trust me to go out there and do my thing [Saturday] just means the world to me.”
Peppering the zone with a riding mid-90s four-seam fastball that sizzled above the barrels of Guardians hitters, Burke threw 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in the White Sox’ Game 2 victory. In addition to emerging as the club’s best starting pitcher in the second half, their only arm trusted to log starter-level innings in the playoffs, Burke has faced the Guardians four times in 2026. In that time, he’s posted a 1.19 ERA, with 27 strikeouts and just four walks in 22 ⅔ innings against them.
“We have some stuff that we’ve seen that works, we’ve got some stuff that we’ve seen didn’t work,” Burke said. “Watch those outings and trying to formulate a plan based off of that.”
Burke went viral for comments he made to the Sun-Times at the outset of the postseason outlining his singular focus on his craft: “This is my life. I don’t have family, no girl, no kids. This is all I do.”
In a joking ode to the quote, his teammates have taken to donning shirts that read ‘Celibate for Sean.’
But rather than a joylessly intense approach that Burke’s remarks might suggest, the 26-year-old carries himself with an ease borne of being freed from the injuries that stalled his prospect rise.
“I don’t really care what any expectations are put on me, not trying to hold myself to any standards,” Burke told the Sun-Times. “I just know I’m good and I want to go out there and just pitch my best every single time, take each game how it is. I feel like I’m a better player in that mindset.
All hands on deck for Game 5
If Burke getting a traditional start rather than an opener suggests that the White Sox will ride him for seven innings, don’t be fooled. White Sox manager Will Venable sounds plenty prepared to aggressively deploy his bullpen in a game where he can’t afford to fall behind.
“Deciding game here of a series, it’s going to be all hands on deck and you kind of throw out the window previous usage,” Venable said. “That is going to take a different level of preparedness and preparation and really just guts and heart.”
Arizona Fall League ranks thinning
Two Sox prospects who are candidates to be major-league camp invites next spring will spend the offseason recovering from surgery rather than continuing to play in the AFL.
First baseman Anthony DePino, who hit .260/.357/.482 in Double-A this season, underwent a procedure to address a left shoulder/lat injury. Hard-throwing right-handed reliever Pierce George, who struck out 82 in 65 ⅔ innings across four minor league levels this season, suffered an olenacron fracture in his pitching elbow.
Both are expected to be ready for spring training.